Imported Timbers whose use should
be Avoided

THE FOLLOWING TIMBERS MAY BE HARVESTED FROM OLD GROWTH FORESTS
OR RAINFORESTS OVERSEAS. . .

PLEASE AVOID THEIR USE!

Note: Some of these species are now available from certified and/or ecoforestry
sources (see Certified Timber Available For Import).
Always try to make absolutely certain of the source of any imported timber
before contemplating its purchase.

Please give us feedback
on the changing status of any timber species on this list, or others of
which you are aware (ed.).

NB: The Lauan/Meranti group (Shorea, Parshorea, Pentacme): "Endangered".
Origin, S-E Asia. The term "Lauan" or "Philippine mahogany"
is applied to 3 genera. The various species of the 3 genera can be categorized
into 5 groups, based on heartwood colour. Meranti and Seraya are names applied
only to the genera Shorea. Various Shorea species such as S. curtisii and
S. platyclados are listed as "requiring conservation action" according
to the FAO.

- Heartwood yellow-brown to red-brown. Moderately durable. One of the
world's outstanding furniture timbers. Also used for panelling. doors, window
and picture frames, boat fittings, toilet seats and coffins. Scarce. Could
disappear within 15 years. Seldom seen in Australia.

- Heartwood pale to dark reddish brown. Outdoor furniture, vats, cladding,
panelling, plywood. Australia imports timber of Redwood trees which were
1,500 to 2,000 years old. Less than 5% of the old growth Redwood forests
remain, but logging continues despite protests. There is presently no way
of verifying whether Redwood imports come from plantations or old growth
forests.

(Redwood is also grown in plantations in Victoria - see 'Australian Grown
Plantation Species').

(NB: Plantation teak available from Java and South America is not recommended.
See the info on Teak in Tropical Plantation Timbers;
see also TEAKNET in the Alternative
Directory under Timber Industry Promotion Groups).

* Wellington
Rainforest Action Group says that consumers in New Zealand are being
shown furniture labels which state that the 'Shorea' furniture on display
was harvested in central Vietnam under full government supervision and control,
and that "a huge reforestation program is under way in Vietnam to repair
the damage caused both by war and by the methods used by peasant farmers.
To this extent an export tax is levied by the Vietnamese on all wooden articles
and all proceeds are used in replanting. Through the purchase of this furniture
you are supporting reforestation and preventing exploitation of forest areas."

This claim has not yet been verified by any forest or environmental organisation.
Please contact the Guide if you are aware of the truth or otherwise of Vietnam's
harvest policy.

** The Auro
Paint company uses Dammar resin as a binding agent for its paints which
comes from the same tree species which has been overexploited to supply
Meranti timber. Auro contracts workers from Palembang in Sumatra to extract
the resin from trees in forests which loggers have continually tried to
buy and clearfell.